Real estate industry veteran Tom Panos has publicly challenged Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's claims that recent tax changes are successfully addressing the nation's housing crisis. Albanese stated in a video that Labor's reforms to negative gearing tax benefits and the capital gains discount were providing opportunities for first-home buyers and increasing housing supply.
"With a 27 per cent increase in loans for new builds," Albanese said, "We're fixing a broken housing system." He asserted that first-home buyers are facing less competition from investors, and an increasing number of investors are taking out loans to construct new homes.
However, Panos responded sarcastically to the Prime Minister's remarks, questioning the data presented. He highlighted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicating a different trend. According to the June quarter 2026 lending indicators, the number of first-home-buyer loans decreased by 2.9 percent during the quarter and showed essentially zero percent growth compared to the previous year.
Panos also pointed to a 8.6 percent fall in investor loans during the quarter, with the value of investor lending dropping by 10.2 percent. Overall loan commitments for new dwellings also saw a 5.4 percent decline.
Online commenters echoed Panos's skepticism, accusing Albanese of "gaslighting" the public. Concerns were raised about rising rents and the impact on individuals' ability to save for a home purchase. "What planet is this guy living on?" one commenter asked, while another noted, "Rents are still through the roof - how are we supposed to save to buy our first home when we live week to week strangled by ever increasing rent?"
Conversely, some commenters expressed support, suggesting it was a more favorable time for first-home buyers compared to the period before the May Federal Budget. The budget introduced changes that included axing the capital gains discount in favor of indexation and removing the tax benefit of negative gearing for existing investment properties, while maintaining it for new builds.
Nathan Birch, founder of Invested, told Realestate.com.au that these policy shifts have consolidated the property market. "First-home buyers and investors have been pancaked into the same markets," he said. Birch explained that first-home buyers are now concentrated in more affordable areas due to reduced borrowing power, while investors are seeking better cash flow owing to the loss of negative gearing. This dynamic, he noted, has strengthened the lower end of the market, while the middle and upper segments have seen declines.